True Family
by Reidluver
Summary: Tsuna starts to understand just how important he is to his family.


**All right! Time for my first delve into KHR! I have just recently fallen in love with the series and wanted to try my hand at it. Please enjoy! **

**This contains spoilers for the Future Arc, and is set during the period before the attack on Millefiore base around chapter 163 or so, after Tsuna and Yamamoto learn of Gokudera's past.  
**

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"Looks like it worked, huh?"

"Uh, I guess so."

Yamamoto and Tsuna peered into the library where Gokudera was fast asleep at one of the tables. His chest rose soft and controlled, indicating a deep sleep. Uri lay curled up on one of the nearby tables, using a number of rusty old tomes as a sort of bed. On Gokudera's table there were numerous papers strewn about with various scribbles that looked to be very complex. There were also a number of red boxes. Tsuna had no idea how the papers were crucial to Gokudera's training, but at least he was doing it now.

"You think we should wake him, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked as they got closer. "It can't be comfortable sleeping like that."

"I guess so," Tsuna muttered. He stopped at Gokudera's side and merely stared for a few moments. Gokudera looked so worn out, with his clothes all rumpled and slightly damp with sweat. Previous wounds from the battle with Gamma still covered his body, along with fresh new scratches that Tsuna knew had to have come from Uri. And while the sight of injuries on his friend would normally alarm him, it wasn't the problem that Tsuna was dwelling on at the moment.

Despite what Reborn and Yamamoto had said, he still felt like there was something he could do to help Gokudera feel better. Hearing his sad relationship with his parents from Reborn made Tsuna's heart ache. It hurt him to think that his friend had to deal with that.

He knew from experience how difficult it was to live without parents around. True, he only had to deal with his father being gone so much and hardly seeming to care about him at times, but that gave him some common ground with Gokudera. And now some of Gokudera's personality made sense to him; the somewhat embarrassed way Gokudera seemed to act around his mother whenever Tsuna invited him over, the disregard for his sister Bianchi, and the ever persistent distrust of anyone who came into his life.

Just then Gokudera's face clenched and he started muttering in his sleep. Tsuna had no idea what he was saying, but if he were to guess it had to be Italian. And judging by the pained expression, whatever Gokudera was dreaming about wasn't pleasant.

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna reached forward to wake his friend when suddenly Gokudera's hand shot out like he was throwing his dynamite and nudged his arm. At the contact, Gokudera froze for a moment, then his hand tightly grasped Tsuna's sleeve.

"Ah? Tsuna, what is it?" Yamamoto asked. He stood on the other side of Gokudera with a hand outstretched to wake the boy as well. "Is Gokudera trying to fight you in his sleep?" The Rain Guardian calmly walked over to Tsuna's side and laughed softly. "Maybe he thinks you're a blanket!"

"Eh?"

Yamamoto did seem to have a point though, Tsuna figured. Gokudera's grip on his sleeve stayed the same, but Tsuna watched curiously as Gokudera's clenched scowl slowly turned into a warm smile. It was a relief to know that Gokudera wasn't having a nightmare anymore, but Tsuna was confused as to how he calmed down so quickly. Gokudera was still asleep, wasn't he?

"He really looks up to you, you know," Yamamoto said quietly. Tsuna glanced up at him sharply and the boy laughed. "From what I've seen, you're the only person he's trusted since coming to Namimori, and maybe even before that. And now . . . it looks like he's finally starting to trust the rest of us as well."

Tsuna stared at the smiling Yamamoto in surprise. He thought back on what Yamamoto had said to them after the fight with Gamma. The dark-haired boy had explained how the two of them fought in the midst of the fight with the Black Spell member, how Yamamoto had scolded him, and then how Gokudera realized his mistake and agreed to work together.

"_I don't think he fully trusts me yet," Yamamoto had laughed, "but it's a good start, you know?"_

"Well—" (Yamamoto's voice interrupted his thoughts) "—I think I'll grab a quick snack before heading off to bed. Got a lot of training to do tomorrow! See ya later, Tsuna!"

Tsuna gave a feeble wave to Yamamoto with his free hand. Once the library door closed, Tsuna glanced back at Gokudera's sleeping form. The grip on his sleeve never faltered as Gokudera continued to look peaceful. Tsuna didn't have the heart to wake him, but Yamamoto was right about having to get him into a proper bed. And on that matter, he himself had to get to sleep! The horrors of what tomorrow's training would bring paralyzed him with fear.

"If you space out like that you'll die."

"Reborn!" The small Arcobaleno ignored Tsuna and leapt onto the table. He peered at the papers for a moment before his lips quirked into a small smile.

"He's on the right track," Reborn muttered.

"Eh? Right track for what, Reborn?" Tsuna was amazed at how the tiny hitman could understand the crazy scribbles. It looked like gibberish to him, but considering this was Reborn though, it actually wasn't all that surprising.

"You're doing a decent job on being there for your family, Tsuna. But now you need to put that same dedication in getting stronger."

Tsuna let out a frustrated sigh. "Why do you keep saying 'family!' They're just my friends, and I'm not their boss or anything! We're just fighting together so we can get back home!"

Leon quickly transformed into a long, thin stick like the kind teachers used and Reborn whacked Tsuna on the head with it. "And that's why you're an idiot, Tsuna. Don't you see how much everyone depends on you?"

"That's what I don't get! Gokudera-kun treats me better than he treats himself, and Yamamoto and all the others think that I have all the answers! They all think I'm invincible or something!"

"Idiot." Another whack on the head. "They all know you're not invincible. If they did I'd have to punish them for it." Leon transformed into his regular state and Reborn helped guide the lizard back onto his fedora.

"The reason they all follow and look up to you is because they can see your strength," Reborn said. "They also know of your kind personality in the way you care for them. It's a characteristic you share with the Vongola Primo."

Tsuna's eyes widened. "Really? Just like the Primo?" While he wanted nothing to do with the mafia, he couldn't help but feel proud at being compared to the First Vongola Boss. Of course he had never really met him, but the simple fact that they both used X Gloves made Tsuna feel a small spark of kinship for him.

Reborn nodded. "But none of that matters if you can't see it yourself." He glanced at Gokudera. "They look up to you for protection, guidance, and care, then in return they swear their lives to do the same for you." The Arcobaleno took a few steps forward and locked gazes with Tsuna.

"Are you ready to hold up your end?"

Tsuna gulped. He knew Reborn was doing this for his sake, but he couldn't help but feel like anything the infant said was a death threat. And like usual he was going to ignore how strange that statement made him feel. (Because really—he was that scared of a baby? How pathetic was that?) He looked at Gokudera's hand on his sleeve again and took a deep breath.

"I don't really know how to, but I do know that everyone here is a very dear friend of mine—and I don't want anything to happen to them! I'll do whatever it takes to get stronger so I can protect them! We're all working hard so we can return to the past and live together in peace."

Reborn smiled. "That's good enough for now." Then he lashed out suddenly and kicked Gokudera to the ground, meaning Tsuna fell backwards as well. "Wake up."

"Ahhh!" Gokudera flailed on the floor and rubbed the spot on his cheek where Reborn had kicked him. "What the hell was that for? Where—ah! Tenth, are you all right?"

"Ow!" Tsuna rubbed his shoulder. That had hurt! It felt like his arm was going to be ripped off. "Uh . . . no it's fine, Gokudera-kun."

The Storm Guardian looked pleased for a moment, then he gasped and glanced back at the table. "Shit—I must have fallen asleep! Please forgive me, Tenth! I'm almost done figuring out the Sistema C.A.I. thing! I promise I'll get it done quick!" He leapt up and reached for his pencil, but his hand was slapped away by Reborn.

"You've done enough today," he said. "Time for the two of you to get some rest before I wake you up in a few hours."

"Eh? What do you mean by that, Reborn?" Tsuna stood up quickly and joined Gokudera by the table. "How long are we going to sleep?"

"If you're lucky, three to four hours," Reborn replied.

"You can't be serious!" Tsuna wailed. "That's not enough time—"

"You've already had your rest period from the previous battle," Reborn said calmly. "We don't have much time until we attack the Millefiore base so you need to spend as much as you can to prepare."

"But—"

"Don't worry, Tenth!" Gokudera gave him a thumbs-up. "We'll be able to do it, right? So let's get some sleep."

Tsuna opened his mouth to argue, then thought better of it. There wasn't really anything else he could do really. The important thing was that Gokudera seemed to be back to his original self, no matter how troublesome that usually ended up for Tsuna. He smiled instead.

"Yeah."

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**Comments or tips are appreciated. Thanks for reading!  
**


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